!Installing a battery-ready solar panel system

Considering adding battery storage to your system in the near future? It’s not as simple as plug’n’play. Not all solar power systems will be easily upgradeable. To have a battery ready solar system your system should ideally be designed with the correct components and installation in mind. If you are installing a solar system with batteries in mind, it’s important to ask the solar installer or company what they mean by “battery ready”.

Plug and Play: 

Compatible inverter and correct location for battery set-up: your inverter needs to be designed to work with a specified type of battery. Many solar inverters on homes currently will not be compatible with all batteries, in these cases a new solar inverter or charging inverter may be required. If your system is installed incorrectly for storage, your system may also require more work to get it ready for batteries. In saying that, if you have already installed a system without these considerations it’s not the end of the world. Most systems can be upgraded with a replacement or an additional inverter or other equipment.

Some solar battery systems will have inverter functions incorporated. These are considered Plug & Play solar storage systems.

Power/Consumption meters are a great idea to install before purchasing a battery to determine if the battery you are considering is worth buying and give you an idea of the ideal storage capacity. It’s actually a good idea to have one installed with your solar panel system so you get the full picture of your  energy production and usage and can take full advantage of the solar power produced by your new solar system.

A power/consumption meter is a device that allows you to optimise self-consumption of solar power by recording the household‘s energy production and usage patterns, often adding to the information in your solar monitoring portal to compare solar production and energy usage patterns.

Most power/consumption meters worth considering will also allow you to view historic reports via your monitoring interface as well that will indicate storage capacity required and will determine if your battery will be worth getting.

The future brings uncertainty. How predictable! 

With the local market under pressure from impacts of import problems, labour shortages, rising fuel and transport costs, global political tensions and government incentives dropping in 2023 (crazy times right?), the costs for solar systems are likely to fluctuate a little… as they have since Covid showed its ugly head! It is important to consider this if you are comparing prices over a timeframe of more than a month and especially through to the new year.

In contrast to varying costs of solar system installations, it is almost a certainty that retail electricity prices will continue to climb at troubling rates. Most of the electricity generated in NSW by just 5 coal power plants with about a ¼ of these regularly going offline and requiring maintenance this year forcing us to rely on more expensive gas plants. This, compounded by the invasion of Ukraine; a decade of poor federal governance and political distraction holding back localised renewable energy production and back-to-back La Ninas wreaking havoc with the sourcing and transport of coal has all culminated in a crunch on living expenses. October’s budget forecast retail energy prices would increase by an average of 20% across the country in late 2022 and 50% over the next two years!

Needless to say with the current global climate (both economical and weather related), the new federal government’s plan is likely to take longer than expected and the average household that relies solely on centralised power (excuse the pun) will likely feel the pressure building for some time.

So should I install solar panels with solar battery storage? 

It all depends on how you currently use your power and how you want to control your energy.

If you have an existing solar system without solar storage, do the legwork to check if you’re using the system to its full potential. 

• Do you have a power/consumption meter installed and are you using the monitoring correctly to increase your efficiency? 

• Are you producing enough to cover your daytime usage?

• Are you exporting excess power to the grid? 

• Could you reduce your demand on the grid even more by shifting some of your power usage to different times of day?

• Will you need additional solar capacity to produce enough power for day and night usage?

• Could you reduce the cost of your late night/early morning usage by swapping to time-of-use metering?

If you don’t have a solar system yet you will need to consider your return on investment in two stages. 

• Do you understand your home’s energy usage profile?

• Are you being billed on a single rate or time-of-use metering?

• How much solar capacity will you require to cover your day and night loads?

• Could you reduce your night-time demand o by shifting some of your usage to the day?

• Are you using enough energy power at night to cover the additional cost of a battery system?

The answers to all of these questions will play a big part in the decision to install a new system or upgrade your system with a solar battery storage.

Is solar battery storage worth it right now?

With everything mentioned above in mind it may seem daunting to commit to decisions that seem like a big investment. The cost of batteries may outweigh the financial return for you at this point and you might be willing to take a wait-and-see approach and sit on the idea for a while. The cost of batteries may be likely to come down with the shifting markets in materials or maybe you will get a higher battery capacity at a simpler price point.  The tradeoff is you also might miss out on thousands of dollars in your pocket right now from savings on your power bills.

Taking matters into your own hand by producing and storing your own solar power means putting a cap on your demand from the centralised grid and bringing some stability predictability to your finances. The investment is a financial one but it is also an investment in your own financial security. Don’t leave your power in the hands of the producers.

Think about your needs in a system and contact a consultant from Solarhunters now!

Beat the Fat-Cats & Go Solar Safer!

Australia is seeing a new attitude, perspective and demand from customers for renewables and a better rate on their electricity. With a lack of political encouragement over the past few years to say the least and the ever increasing electricity prices in Australia, customers are looking for options. Becoming self-sustainable in terms of electricity with rooftop solar is now a very attractive proposition. 

Home solar is one of the fastest growing industries in Australia not to mention the rest of the world. Residential solar actually works in a very similar way to the large-scale electrical providers. You generate electricity during the day and buy the rest from the grid at night. Just the same, the grid doesn’t have an unlimited supply of power to be tapped into at any time. The energy companies will determine how much electricity is to be generated based on a calculation and projections of the most probable usage for a given area. 

Although the big power generators do a great job at supplying us with power, their business models are rigid and restrict development towards more modern, renewable technologies. After making massive and under effective investments in power-line infrastructure there is no wonder they seem to be fixed on recouping their losses at the expense of you, the customer. There is a reason you may find your power bills confusing.

They don’t want you to read them!

Our federal government is tied closely to coal power plants and the taxes that come from the industry supply are a large amount of revenue to invest in other areas.

In terms of the average Australian family looking to remove themselves from the monopoly that is big power, the best solution comes in the form of the small-scale solar industry. Rooftop solar power is becoming a truly worthy challenger to the big guys. It has worked its way to build a massive market in one of the least politically welcoming climates in the world over the past years. 

When installing a solar power system, you’re essentially creating a personal electricity utility, a small scale solar plant. In order to get it right, it helps to first understand where your electricity actually comes from.

For big power plants, the daily production of energy is projected by taking into account the history of electrical use in the area over time. There are reserve backup supplies but even those are not an infinite source. You as a solar customer are creating your own personal utility, so your calculations should mirror this process on some level when determining the right system. 

First, calculate your average daily usage over a year or longer. Make sure you factor in night-time usage. Then ask yourself if batteries are something you will be considering in the future. This will determine the size and components of the system you are looking at. 

For a standard on-grid system, remove the night time usage and off-peak hot water usage from your figures. You should be left with the average daily usage for daylight (usable) hours. The system that will generate this amount of power should give you the highest return on your investment (upfront cost/savings per year for the lifespan of your system). 

For a hybrid, battery backup system you will want to include your night-time usage to make sure you’re generating enough to charge your batteries. Getting the calculation correct means you are essentially shielding yourself from rising prices of mass-produced electricity. You are protecting yourself from paying for the mistakes of the fat cats. You’re as free as you can conveniently be from the grid… for now. 

Get In Touch With Solarhunters

The solar world can be confusing at the best of times. I strive to explain the process in simple, easy-to-digest snippets for your benefit, but if you’re still not quite getting it, ask us a question directly and one of the team from Solarhunters will be happy to try to clear up any questions you may have!

Feed In Tarrif Vs Rebate

A Feed-In Tariff simply put is how much credit you will get on your electricity bill for the power you send back into the grid. 

The Rebate (or more correctly the STC solar incentive) is the amount you will save when you purchase a system for your property. 

Now we’ve cleared that up we can move on to explaining the details of the rebate itself. Currently, until mid 2017 you have the option of buying a solar system and qualifying for a government rebate, but there is a catch. The rebate is not a rebate! The “rebate” (or incentive) is actually a determined amount of STC’s (Small Trade Certificates) that will be given based on the area you live in as well and the actual dollar amount will be based on the market value for the certificates at the time you buy your system.

The savings you make with the incentive will depend on the value of the STC’s at the time, high value = bigger saving. 

Basically if there is a high demand for solar (lot’s of people buying) there is a smaller value on the STC’s and a smaller “rebate” (incentive). It’s similar to shares on the market, the value could  rapidly drop any time! 

Let’s just say you hold off until there is high demand for solar and everyone is buying at the time that you decide to purchase. This seems like a likely scenario as your friends and neighbours are going for solar so it seems like a good time to get on board, but you have missed the boat, you might get around half the savings that your neighbour received. Damn!

So maybe you’re wondering “why the demand would suddenly spike to cause such a sudden drop in STC value?” First think about why this article first took your interest and how you found yourself here. There is already a rapid rise in word of mouth and interest in installing solar from households that previously have put it off. A lot of that is due to the focus of solar battery systems in the media. Batteries can offer a solution to cover your entire day’s usage with your own power from the sun. This has attracted the 9-5 demographic as they can now truly make an impact on their consumption from the grid. This movement has brought with it everyone else that has been putting solar off as a home project for years now and are getting constant reminders from friends and family who are installing. My professional advice, “get in now!”

2. Solar Feed In Tariffs All Cleared Up

Solar power in the Australian economy is a little misunderstood for potential household buyers…

We have the resources to understand our current situation at all times, but the fact is they are hard to find when advertising and social media play such a big part in our daily intake of information. I would say the government could be doing more to inform us of the current situation with the renewable industry and why it is important. But seeing as how they seem to have a slackers attitude on the subject, why don’t we educate you guys on the subject instead. 😉

The truth about solar in Australia is that there is a developing market. The growing market of home solar producers are also becoming true users of solar power. While a lot of others, are assuming they already are… 

The problem arises from the misconception of how energy is produced and distributed to you.. The consumer! We don’t like to think of where a lot of our resources come from because frankly, the picture is not a pretty one. 

Let me break it to you, Gas comes from smashing the ground and drilling deep into our core resources to suck out a byproduct our planet buried before we even developed, Oil = burning up the old remnants of all the leaves that absorbed the chemicals preventing you and I from evolving and big-power electricity, well it’s a whole mixed bag of ugly things (including the things listed before). 

On the other hand is solar, the sun, It’s been around for a long time and we’re just beginning to harvest a fragment of its power. The misconception around home solar in Australia come from the lack of understanding of how we measure and distribute the electricity it produces.

The last decade was the peak of the homeowner becoming a small-scale electricity distributor. An awesome time for the solar industry to perfect the technology and a great stepping stone to where we are today. 

Here is how feed-in tariffs work. 

Your solar meter is used to measure the amount of electricity generated by your solar system, but the way it is set up will also determine the type of incentive you will get for sending the power you produce back to the grid. 

Grid-tied solar works in TWO ways. 

They are split up by two types of metering (measurement), each qualifying for different rates or Feed-In Tarrifs: Gross & Net 

Gross metering is the old method, where the bulk of the produced power will be sent back to the grid at a generous rate to your credit on your bill. This rate can be up to 66c for every kWh produced! That’s a big rate, but you don’t use that power at all. You save money by selling it back to the power company and getting credit on your power bill. Thanks to the big government subsidies and the buyback, you would still expect a pretty great payback, but the cost of electricity was a lot less than it currently is so in turn the actual savings were a fraction of what they would be getting each quarter these days. 

Net metering is where we are at today which means your system will generate power and you will actually use it! Any excess will be fed-back to the grid for a small incentive from your electricity retailer. This rate will be anywhere from 6.6c/kWh-11.2c/kWh depending on your electricity company. That’s not much, but based on the price of your system, the fact that your using it and the sky high electricity prices, you’re doing quite well if you get anything back!

If you’re living in the NT, you are still lucky to be getting these incentives, but down here in NSW those days are numbered. After 31 December 2016, those contracts will no longer be valid and anyone with a system under a Gross Feed-In Tarrif will need to pay for to have Net Metering set up and will go under whatever the feed in tariff the rest of us are on at the time. This means there will be a level playing field and all homeowners will be offered the same incentives from next year and hopefully some of the confusion will start to clear up.

3. You Haven’t Missed Out… Yet!

Time to Get Solar!! Already On Gross Metering? Perfect, Time to Upgrade!!

• You still qualify for the full STC Incentive & Prices are at an all time low!

2. Get access to the latest technology:

Batteries and Hybrid inverters are on the market!

Microinverters and AC systems are here!

3. Old system owners can upgrade and still qualify for STC incentive!

You can add separate solar system of up to 10kW and get the current Net FiT on their new solar system. You won’t lose your old FiT on your old solar system. Customers on 20c Gross or Net FIT Can expand their capacity up to 10kW and retain their 20c rate. 

Stop wasting time and get Solarhunters to find you the perfect system!

You Haven’t Missed Out: Solar Is Still King

Is it worth it for me to install solar today? If I installed 5 years ago I would be better off!

One of the most frequently raised concerns I am finding myself addressing when talking to people considering getting solar for their home. The answer is, of course it is worth investing in solar! Maybe you missed the boat on the old systems… but the world changes and we must change with it or get left behind!

The truth is, in NSW at least, those systems that were installed all those years ago now fell under the gross-metering government scheme and had a larger initial purchase incentive. This is a totally different setup to how solar is configured today. 

In the past where the federal government would chip in to allow you to earn up to 66c for each kilowatt of electricity produced with the help of some credit from the retailer, the system will now feed into your home for personal use first, and then export what is left with credits only being provided by your electricity retailer at a negotiated rate. 

The general rule back in the very early days was the bigger the system, the more you earned in credits on your power bill (sometimes paid in the form of a cheque if you were lucky). This encouraged uptake with the high initial price of the system and guaranteed a payback at around the same return as you would see today on a net-metered system. This government backing created a “safety net” for anyone buying into solar in the early days and on the surface it would seem they are better off. 

The current form of solar is under a net-metered scheme, in which the system is still backed by a generous initial incentive (basically a discount on the upfront price) but the buy-back from your retailer is the only return you will get. 

 This is not to say solar is no longer a lucrative investment, far from it!

With the current average price for a premium system being a fraction of the price it was 5 years ago and the incentive still being phased out you couldn’t be in a better position to invest now! With returns of around 20-30 percent you couldn’t get a more secure investment! Your bank in comparison is giving you an average of how much to have your money stashed away? 

There is a reason solar finance and investment in solar companies is fast becoming the most lucrative trade of the century. Goldman Sachs, the goliath investment bank had targets to invest $40 billion in clean energy technologies by 2012, now they are planning to quadruple that amount to $150 billion by 2025! Do you think they know something about investment? 

Regardless of your angle, the answer for me is solar will always be worth the initial expense. If you are using a very small amount of electricity (well done by the way) and you don’t qualify for the immediate financial benefits of solar, the environmental benefits are still there and you will get your return after a few extra years and it’s still likely to be better than the return your bank will offer on your money!

On the other hand, If you’re not concerned about the environmental consequences of dirty power (shame, shame) it’s likely that you will benefit from the financial benefit after the initial return of 2-5 years even on a premium system. 

The benefits are always there, but for most people the biggest concern is the financial impact it has on their lives. Solar has the potential to open up the door to financial freedom by reducing the budget allocated to the bottomless pit of paying ever increasing power bills.

It’s just like renting, you will never be free of the cost until you make a commitment and invest! Plus you’ve probably already bought a house at a higher cost with a slower return, now is your chance to get some of that money back in your pocket a little sooner!

One of the largest shifts in our modern world is approaching and the opportunity to be right in front is in your grips. 

Do you capture it or let it slip?

Why You Shouldn’t Install Solar!

While rooftop solar is one of the best investments a home or business owner could make, there will always be exceptions to the rule. 

In our travels across NSW we often encounter confusion when it comes to solar PV. This confusion is only encouraged by the ridiculous amount of information published across the internet filled with conflicting views on products, scare tactics from anti-renewable conspiracy theorists and misinformation from outsiders and from within the industry itself. The information is all there, but cutting through all the advertising and sales pitches will take a good deal of time.. Not to mention a great BS radar. 

One of the biggest confusion points we encounter when discussing solar with a new customer is in relation to the sizing of a system and what kind of return on investment you can expect. 

The team at Solarhunters believe that our skills in understanding what you want (or more importantly… what you need) is one of the most important assets in our business. Our dedication to superior quality solar products, installation and customer service is what sets Solarhunters apart from the competition. 

That’s why all of the team at Solarhunters train and work so hard to continue developing our understanding and knowledge so we have the right answers and always design the right system for your needs, providing you with the optimum system performance and return on your investment. 

 

Here is the deal, 

As a requirement, Solarhunters always undertake a  pre-qualification process before recommending a system to our customers. With this check we can find your average return of investment based on the average expected saving each year on electricity costs. 

If your investment falls below our threshold we may advise not installing solar just now and may recommend switching power retailers or switching to time-of-use rates to lower your night-time electricity usage costs. 

Our recommendations are based on a number of factors but ultimately result in an average return of investment calculation that is specific to each and every user. 

You can try to get a rough idea of the figures on your own but remember to consider other variables like the design of your system, your home’s positioning and potential sources of shading. Doing this yourself, without the help of a qualified solar designer, will require a fair bit of guesswork and isn’t an exact method and I would always advise you to request a quick chat with Solarhunters if you aren’t sure, but if you’re confident with your results you can possibly save money by switching over as suggested above. 

But before you count solar out all together, you may benefit from considering all of your expenses as a whole. The only way to really get in front is to save money across the board! If you are spending money on gas, fire-wood for stoves, diesel generators or other alternative power sources, you may actually benefit from bringing them all into the equation to get a realistic idea of how you can cut power costs with your very own solar system. Solar is now cleaner and cheaper than ever, and with the future looking bright for solar batteries, there has never been a better time to do the right thing and go green!

If you are still not sure if solar is right for you, feel free to get in touch with the team at Solarhunters for an honest and straightforward answer! 

 

How Solar Works & Why You Need It!

I’m going to break this down as easily as possible. I may leave out a few details but to understand something as complicated as solar, a general idea is a good place to start, so bear with me.  

A standard solar system will consist of two main components, panels & inverters.

The panels work by absorbing UV energy from the sun and transferring electrons between silicone cells within the panel to create electricity. The energy generated is DC (direct current) electricity. Typically the electricity is then fed into your inverter which will convert the electricity to AC (alternating current) making it viable for use in our homes for our household appliances. Any excess electricity you produce without using will be sent back to the grid and (depending on your state) you will receive a credit for the electricity you “sell” to the grid. 

Depending on your chosen set-up you may be using a Central Inverter or Micro Inverters. A central inverter will work with a string-line of panels, which basically means all your panels work together and the power they generate will feed into the one inverter (which is usually mounted next to the meter board). These systems are designed to work like a continuous circuit. Which could be compared to Christmas lights. When one stops working you will notice it causes problems with the whole line of lights. In terms of your system if one panel is not working or you have a shaded area on your roof ( from trees or other objects) it will cause performance to drop with the other panels connected on the same string. 

With a micro inverter system this problem is basically solved by adding a smaller (micro) inverter to each panel instead of one large inverter. The inverters will be mounted to the back of the panel essentially converting to AC current immediately. This design is like a closed circuit where each panel will work independently regardless of shading on part of the system. The system will still also have central monitoring software to manage output and production usually connected via Wi-fi. 

If you have battery storage integrated with your system there will be several other components involved but basically the batteries will charge and store the DC electricity produced by the system during the day and discharge power during the evenings extending the usage timeframe of your solar system. Any excess power will be sent back to the grid with the exception of stand-alone installations. Solar batteries are at a point where they are fast becoming viable when considering the Australian energy market but current your state and local government incentives will be a big factor when considering if it’s the right investment for your home. 

Solar is fast becoming the highest ticket item in energy production in Australia (and the rest of the world). The combination of high electricity prices and lowering costs in solar technology are now making it possible to see returns on your investment in as little as two years. This means that going solar is now cheaper for most people than “buying” power from the grid and it’s no longer a long-term investment. While you may have considered waiting for solar, the neighbours are already saving money and they may be paying less upfront than you will if you wait!

Currently you are paying a premium for over-investment in the infrastructure of the grid across eastern NSW. You’re left with no option but to pay premiums on electricity if you aren’t spending every minute of the day watching the meter.  Swapping retailers won’t have a large enough impact alone because electricity prices are based on the wholesale value of electricity and realistically the big guys run the market how they see fit despite the wishes of the regulators. Electricity prices have risen to more than double in the last five years, and at the time of posting, things are only getting worse! 

Solar is essentially a financial safeguard, protecting you from rising price rises on electricity over time. Even calculating the savings at 50% of your average bill over 25 years compared to a modest 7% rise in electricity will show you serious savings over time. This is just a taste of the basic investments in store with solar technology. With the rapid development in battery technology and software alongside smart-home tech it is now possible to produce and consume almost all of your energy from your own solar power system with the grid acting as a backup. It is also possible to sell to the grid at a premium when backup or excess power is needed to “boost” the supply for the grid users. 

Solar finance is another rapidly developing sector in the renewables industry. WIth countless options for purchasing solar from $0 deposit to small-commercial finance at 4% as well as flexible payment plans there has never been a better time to get hooked up!

With battery technology now in stages of refinement and solar panels and inverters being more efficient than ever, the innovation is set to be endless according to the imaginations of inventors and entrepreneurs. 

We are looking at an energy revolution taking place and Australia is firing the first shot. Your only task now is to get the details of your energy bills together, think about how you’re going to invest and get in touch with the team from Solarhunters for the best deals on high-quality solar systems from the very best solar installer in the market! 

Click below to get in touch now!

The Solar Battery Storage Revolution

Energy storage is nothing new. Lead- acid deep cycle batteries have been around for over 100 years and we have been using them to store energy generated by solar panels since they were invented in the 1950’s. The big difference lies in the accessibility and convenience of the new lithium-ion battery technology for you, the average home-owner. 

Lithium-ion batteries provide an elegant solution to the big problems facing previous technology: they cost less, they are compact and they look good!

 

Lithium-ion batteries are not the newest of inventions either, they have existed since the 1970’s.  That handy mobile phone has pushed these batteries into focus since the 1980’s. The big problem that held this technology back is those batteries had a habit of literally blowing up!

Researchers worked to stabilise the lithium-ion formula, adding carbon and testing different types of metal oxides. The big development came when scientists hit the winning formula, (Li Co O) Lithium Cobalt Oxide. It might not sound that interesting to most people but the new, super-connected world we live in is all thanks to these guys and their magic formula. 

Mobile phones, tablets, computers and even modern internet-businesses are all possible thanks to these batteries and we are already seeing more technologies leaning towards these technologies: cars, machinery and now… your home!

There’s a few reasons this technology is increasingly popular, especially in Australia. Although Lithium-ion batteries have been on the market for a while, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk has managed to put the technology at the centre of consumer attention.

Secondly, a combination of a drop in feed-in tariffs (the credits you are given from exporting power to the grid) and increasing electricity prices create an ideal market for solar storage to save the day. Australians (along with the rest of the world) are more keen than ever to have more control over how they generate and consume their electricity. It’s never been easier to achieve independence from the big energy companies.

Solar battery producers are now focusing on creating even more innovative solutions. These new Lithium-ion batteries come with software allowing you to use them in multiple ways. Not only can you store power for night time use, you can now monitor and manage your electricity so that you can store energy at off-peak times to use in peak hours, saving you money on the energy you use from the grid.

Many battery producers are now allowing multiple batteries to be installed in series, allowing for flexible and expandable storage solutions. This technique will provide your home with enough power for several days of electricity usage, drawn solely from your home solar batteries! This may not be necessary for most homeowners as the grid will always be available, but it’s a great option to have available and has plenty of practical applications (especially for off-grid set-ups).

 

Here’s How Your Battery Backup Solar System Works

Solar panels will generate DC electricity from the sunlight available, unused electricity will be sent to the battery to charge. Your inverter will then convert the DC (Direct Current) power produced to AC (Alternating Current) power for safe use in your home. Your battery inverter will also convert AC to DC so you can store energy from the grid. The actual process is a little more complicated than that (actually a lot more complicated) but that’s the basic idea of the flow of things. 

Australia is in front of most of the western world in terms of the energy revolution and it is YOU that will reap the benefits!

Everyday people are no longer powerless (pun intended) in terms of control they have with energy production, consumption and now distribution. We now have real options to determine how we use and store electricity and the future looks even brighter with energy companies opening up to the inevitable idea of developing more fair and balanced business models to work WITH consumers. We are moving towards creating what some are calling the “low carbon economy” and Australians will be the pioneers!

 

So how do I choose the right battery for me?? Talk with the team at Solarhunters now to find out!

What is solar and how does it work? 

Understanding how your solar works and what happens to your solar power when it’s generated can be a real advantage but a lot of customers that we come across that are new to solar (and even some that have solar for years) are still not sure of the basic mechanics of the system. 

Well it’s time to take ownership! Once you read this quick guide from Solarhunters, you will no longer be a part of the uneducated solar owners group!

At the most basic level, your solar system is a generator. Solar panels contain materials that energise when hit by UV rays, creating an electric field which is then converted to DC electricity which is channelled to the inverter. The solar inverter converts this DC power to AC power and feeds power into your home or business. 

So what happens to solar power when it’s not used?  

Any unused solar power is fed into the electricity grid, this supplements power for your neighbours to use, for which you’ll usually get a small credit on your bills. The problem with this scenario is that most power grids across Australia are severely outdated or under-resourced and simply can’t handle the sheer level of excess solar power that is being pumped into the grid at some points. This has been used to encourage polarisation in renewable energy by governments leaning on the “problems with solar power” to push their own agendas but really, is this not just highlighting the unbelievable potential of the sheer efficiency of rooftop solar in Australia? 

 

Do we really think “too much power” is ever really a problem? The solution is simple… FIX THE GRID!! I’ll take a breath…  Anyways… The point we are driving towards here is that the solution is very simple.. To paraphrase severely undereducated onion aficionado himself, Sir Tony Abbot, (as well as the countless other following backstabbing colleagues who snatched the throne) “when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow”…  

What is the answer?? Warning rant approaching. Skip to the next section if you don’t want to talk politics! 

The real answer, on a national scale, Is BATTERIES! Not one measly gas fired power plant costing taxpayers more than $600 million dollars, not the bloated ghosts of the distant energy production past coal, which along with gas and oil received 10.3 BILLION DOLLARS in Government subsidies in 2020-2021 (just to shut down the die-hard coal lobbyist trolls out there who about to try on the ‘renewables govt. subsidy argument’). 

The time has come to push on “innovation”(remember… that message the government has pushed so very hard on the voting public since 2016! That very innovation that successive liberal governments have been standing in the way of and blocking for the past 6 years!) Batteries ARE the answer! Even hydro (yes pumped storage acts just like a battery) in some cases works well (not factoring in the environmental impacts of most proposals, but that discussion we will save for some other time). 

The practical government solution is investing in both community solar batteries and home solar batteries with intelligent grid systems that can supply peak demand by pulling stored power from home or community-based battery systems (win) and distribute that electricity over shorter distances (another win) to places of high demand in the neighbouring properties (win/win!). 

The cherry on top? That electricity, when pulled from a battery to meet peak demand will come with a nice little premium for the system owner giving you a top rate for that power! That has the potential to help to mitigate (in a small way) yet another rapidly rising little problem in communities, the rising cost of energy (and the cost of living in general really) and stagnating incomes. 

The lack of federal funding for solar batteries is excruciatingly frustrating for anyone in the renewables industry that can see the writing on the wall as well as for homeowners paying more and more every quarter for electricity. Solar batteries are a developed technology, more than up to the task as publicly proven already by projects like the SA battery. That frustration compounds for those of us in states like NSW with very little innovative thinking in the way of battery projects (although admittedly more than their federal counterparts). Paying in excess of 12k for a battery system just doesn’t add up in the ROI for the average homeowner across NSW. So… we wait!

 

Rant over and back to the point.. Regardless of the government, what’s the answer for ME right now?

Solar power without a solar battery?

So how do I outsmart that greedy electrical company with the help of my home’s solar system without a solar battery? Well this is where technology plays a big part once again! The trick is to optimise your usage to consume your solar power more effectively. That may sound a little too easy but don’t get me wrong, it can be a bit of work upfront. 

Optimising your solar energy usage sounds like a great solution, but how do I do it? 

Step 1: Work out how much power you need.

Calculate your home’s energy usage and design a solar system with the most suitable amount of solar panels and the most efficient solar inverter for your needs. This, accompanied by the correct solar system design for your rooftop and your home’s environment (trees, shading, location ect.), will get you on track to tackle as much of that day-time power as you possibly can ideally leaving a little extra to send back to the grid for credits for now and charge a decently sized battery down the track. Don’t forget to include a consumption meter in the design so you can see how efficient you are using your solar power and how much you are using and selling to the grid.

If you are totally lost already and need the help of an expert team with the design and installation of the highest quality solar system then feel free to give us a call at Solarhunters. We have you covered! 😉

Step 2: Take advantage of all that data!

Utilise that new bidirectional (solar) meter. This new meter has the capability to track the power usage (from the gird) at certain times so you should start to consider time-of-use metering. Time of use metering gives you more control over how much you are paying for your electricity when you do need to buy power from the grid (when your solar is not supplying enough to meet you usage ie. at night). 

The standard setup for time-of-use metering is broken into three rates. Peak; Shoulder and Off Peak. These rates are usually tied to times of low and high demand on the grid. 

The Off-Peak rate is your friend! This rate is often close to half the standard peak rate and can be taken advantage of automatically using some pretty cheap and crafty add-ons to your house! This rate is typically from 10pm to 7am.

The Peak rate will be the highest, sometimes double what you would pay on a flat rate! This rate is your enemy.. Stay away! This rate usually clocks in at about 2pm to 8pm. Obviously it may be hard to reduce energy during these times. You may have a totally electric home and the deep Winters mean that cooking, heating and… general living is pretty much all done after sunlight hours on weeknights. We can address that a little in Step 3! 

The Shoulder rate is the rate in between the other two. It is usually a few hours of the day 7am-2pm and 8pm-10pm and is pretty much equal to the standard rate you would pay on a flat rate. 

This new bidirectional meter of yours can also provide you with valuable data about your current power usage revealing patterns in your usage and help you to start cracking down on that usage. You can often use this along with your solar monitoring if you don’t have a consumption meter to get a good read on your power usage patterns but it will be a little clunkier than forking out for the proper consumption meter to work with your solar inverter. 

 

Step 3: Optimisation stage. Off-Peak-ify everything!!

So the off peak rate on average kicks in at 10pm and switches over at 7am. Forget the fact that you may be sleeping during these times. We are in a modern age guys! Built-in digital timers, plugin and retrofit smart home devices and Wifi all make light work of this problem and these devices are no longer a shining light at the end of the tunnel, these days you can pick them up starting at 30 bucks at Bunnings and set them up within 5 minutes! Set your heavy appliances like dryers, washing machines, pool filters and any other large consumers that run on your peak meter up with digital timers to kick in after 10pm. 

If you want to take it a step further and enjoy the benefits of the modern smart-home, you can set schedules and “countdown timers” to make sure other devices like heated towel rails, TV’s, lamps and even your household lights (pretty much anything with a power point or a switch) to come on and off at certain times and days of the week and only stay on for a certain amount of time once turned on as well. The latter mentioned feature is very handy for devices that are easy to forget to turn off when leaving the house like heated towel rails, fans and lights. Trust me, this WILL save you money, time and stress if you tend to forget things and you are often in a hurry like myself.

One really big benefit to these devices, apart from restricting unnecessary power usage due to forgetfulness, is the ability to use your devices when you are not home! This means you can set things like washers, dryers, air purifiers and reverse cycle air conditioners, heaters, fans and lights to come on at lunch when your solar is at peak or a couple of hours before you leave work with the afternoon sun is hitting those panels. This feature is invaluable in the Summer for most of our customers as it allows them to cool their home with the air-conditioning powered by solar when they would otherwise be doing this one or two hours later and using grid power. In the Winter it can also come in handy with the help of an inverter air-conditioner to warm the house using solar in the afternoon and keep it warm on the automatic setting using very little power until you reach your super-cosy home and take those layers off worry-free. 

Some of the low cost gear we have tested out to date include the Arlec Grid connect system (Wifi), Pixie bluetooth lighting switches and Sensibo Air conditioning Wifi retrofit devices. We have also utilised the in-built Wifi of our Delonghi 2 in 1 dehumidifier/purifier and the in-built time delay start feature of our Samsung heat pump clothes dryer to reduce our demand on the grid. These devices, while they can take some time setting up and definitely have their flaws with all the typical Wifi and NBN connectivity issues, are an excellent start on a low budget and we have found to be a great investment to keep those dreaded power bills down!

So there it is. In Short:

1. Get Solar
2. Study your power habits
3. Cut what power usage you can
4. Shift the rest to off peak
5. Watch your next bill slash to pieces!

Get on it! 

 

Cheers, Tony from Solarhunters. 

P.S No sponsorships here, just pure scientific research (ie. playing with new toys we found interesting). Although if anyone from these companies is listening… we are totally open to getting paid to recommend stuff we like! 😛